Wellness Wednesday: Top 5 Toxic Household Cleaners

I think most of us embarking on a Super Crunchy journey...or just taking a vacation in Granolaville, would prefer not inhaling, ingesting, or putting toxic chemicals in, or on our body.

You can research the internet until your fingers bleed trying to gather information on which products are safest, and which require a HAZMAT suit. Here's what I've learned: Never Trust Marketing.

Let's face it, companies spend millions, if not BILLIONS of dollars to convince you that THEIR product is the best. At a time when most people have become conscious of the "buzz" words like green, all natural, non-toxic and of course organic those same companies believe that if they put anyone of those words on their product it will appeal to crunchy folks like you and me.

Here's the thing....they are 100% RIGHT!

They know exactly how to suck us in and dig into our wallets. Most of us realize that if something on our food label is hard to pronounce or looks like a word a 4 year old made up, we probably shouldn't eat it.

But what about other products like make-up or household cleaners?  Even the savviest of consumers can't sift through the scientific mumbo jumbo that's printed on those labels. Nor really consider what the product warning is really telling us.

A few weeks ago we talked about making your own eco-friendly cleaning spray, instead of buying the chemical-laden ones lining grocery store shelves. Homemade, natural cleaning products are usually more cost effective and safer.

Chemical combinations that other countries have banned have turned up in our name brand products; causing everything from skin irritation or burns, to asthma attacks from inhaling their fumes. What we expose ourselves and our children to is a serious matter, that shouldn't be based on whether it smells like lavender scented freshly hung laundry on Summer's day when the moon is full (though I DO love the smell of lavender).

We deserve to know what we are buying.

For those of you who might have been duped by a fancy green label with a tree, singing birds, and peace signs check out the WORST offenders in the Environmental Working Group's Cleaner Hall of Shame:

#1 Simple Green Concentrated All-Purpose Cleaner

This popular cleaning product claims to be non-toxic, however it contains 2-butoxyethanol, a solvent that soaks through the skin and damages red blood cells. Though the directions clearly say to dilute it even when using for heavy cleaning, it is sold in a ready-to-use spray bottle.

#2 Mop & Glo Multi-Surface Floor Cleaner 

This floor cleaner contains high concentrations of methoxydiglycol, a substance that the United Nations says is "suspected of damaging an unborn child" and are 15x times higher than allowed in Europe.

#3 Tarn-X

A household tarnish remover contains up to 7 % thiourea, which is categorized as a carcinogen by the state of California.

#4 Target's Up and Up (say it ain't so Tar-ge!) & Wal-mart's Great Value

These popular items contain "mystery ingredients" offering little to no information on the back label.

#5 Citra-Solv Cleaner & Degreaser

Oranges may seem natural, but these sprays contain d-limonene, which can react with ozone in the air to form tiny harmful lung-penetrating particles and the known carcinogen, formaldehyde.

For the complete list of cleaning products to avoid take a peek at the EWG's Hall of Shame. 

Don't worry I won't tell...but do you have any of these in your home?

 Cleaning Chemical-free in Granolaville,

Posted in: body,chemicals,cleaning,EWG,wellness wednesday